Senate Education Committee January 24, 2018 Chair Baumgardner and Members of the Senate Education Committee: I am Chuck Knapp, President/CEO of Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today about JAG-K. JAG-K Objective JAG-K partners with public schools and communities to help at-risk students prepare for successful futures. Our primary objective is to help students overcome multiple barriers to high school graduation and get on a successful career path. History and Program Data JAG-K is one of 34 state affiliate organizations of Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG), which was founded in 1980. JAG-K is in its fifth year in Kansas. In 2013, it started as part of the Communities in Schools program and became an independent 501(c)3 organization in 2014. JAG-K started with 25 programs in 2013, which was one of the most successful affiliate launches in JAG history. This year, JAG-K has 68 programs in 33 school districts, serving approximately 3,100 students. JAG-K is the sixth largest JAG affiliate in the nation, based on number of students served. The Model There are multiple JAG Program applications implemented throughout the United States. JAG-K is one of the youngest organizations in the JAG network and has im- plemented the Multi-Year High School, Alternative Education High School, and Mid- dle School programs. JAG also has models for students who left the public school system and need additional training to get on a career path, and a college success program for students who need additional support while in college. This testimony is related to the JAG Multi-Year High School Program. JAG-K is an in-school elective class, where students are taught leadership and career development skills by their JAG-K Career Specialist, who is an employee of JAG-K. The Career Specialist works with an Advisory Council usually comprised of school counselors, administrators, and sometimes community members, to determine which students will be placed in the JAG-K program. Students must have a minimum of five barriers identi- fied from a list of more than thirty barriers defined by the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) national organization. JAG Barrier Examples: • Low Academic Performance • Homeless • Lacks Maturity to Pursue Education or Career Goals • Is Economically Disadvantaged as defined by eligibility for Free or Reduced Lunch, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or other public economic assis- tance. • Inadequate or No Work Experience The JAG model program is three classes of no more than 15 students per class, for a maximum of 45 students per program. There are variations throughout the state, de- pending on school schedule and Specialist experience, but programs are required to get a waiver for more than 50 students per program. The minimum number of students per program is 35. Some schools have multiple programs (for example: freshmen and soph- omores in one program, with juniors and seniors in one program) while most only have one per school. Over the course of a multi-year JAG program, students will be introduced to 87 compe- tencies related to employability, career development, leadership development, life sur- vival and personal skills. These are the skills most employers tell us workers need but are often not equipped with when entering the workforce. The competencies are introduced through the research-based JAG curriculum, which re- lies heavily on project-based learning. We also introduce competencies and career ex- ploration opportunities through regional and statewide events, campus and workplace visits, guest speakers and other innovative strategies. Students are required to invest a minimum of 10 hours serving their communities and a minimum of eight hours during the JAG-K class focused on academic remedia- tion to ensure they are successful in classes outside the JAG-K program. Each JAG-K program is a student organization called the JAG-K Career Association. Students are required to be part of the Career Association and given the opportunity to run for officer positions at the local, regional and state levels. State Career Associ- ation officers participate in JAG-K Day at the Capitol in Topeka, and they qualify for the JAG National Student Leadership Academy in Washington, D.C. The JAG-K program is a 12-month program, requiring JAG-K Career Specialists to maintain contact with students throughout the summer months, assisting them with job and job shadowing opportunities and ensuring they are continuing on a positive and successful path while not in school. In a unique feature to the JAG model, Spe- cialists also have a 12-month follow-up period with JAG-K seniors. In that follow-up period, the Specialist tracks job placement, helps get students acclimated to post- secondary education and is available for an extra layer of support. Performance Measures JAG has been successful for nearly 40 years in the United States because it can demonstrate results with objective data. A variety of performance measures are tracked for every student over the course of their JAG-K experience, including the 12 -month follow-up period. This data covers all areas of the JAG model, including barri- ers overcome, competencies mastered, graduation rate, job placement rate, and suc- cessful outcomes (measured by whether the student is in post-secondary education/ training, military service, in the workforce, or a combination of these. Career Special- ists enter data regularly for each of their students. JAG-K is required to maintain the data in the JAG electronic National Data Manage- ment System (eNDMS) to ensure standardized and consistent data management. Da- ta is so important to the success of the JAG model, JAG-K and many other JAG affili- ates have a data management position strictly to ensure quality data control. The most prestigious award given by JAG to affiliate organizations is the “Five of Five” Award. This award is earned by meeting or exceeding the national performance measures in five categories. JAG-K has been eligible for the award three years and has earned it every year. We are on target to earn it a fourth consecutive year for the class of 2017. Data for that class will not be closed until May 31, 2018 due to our 12-month follow-up. The JAG-K Class of 2016: Graduation Rate 93 percent Positive Outcomes 89 percent Full-time placement (college and/or work) 95 percent Drexel University: JAG Students More Successful Than Peers Drexel University’s Center for Labor Markets and Policy assessed the post high school employment outcomes of the JAG Class of 2015. Lead Researcher, Dr. Paul Harring- ton said, “The differences between JAG graduates and the referent population were some of the greatest that the youth labor market researchers have seen.” Some of the research findings: Two-thirds of all JAG Graduates (both in college and out of school, combined) were employed one year after high school graduation JAG Graduates were 230 percent more likely to be employed full-time compared to the average 18- to 20-year-old population. Black JAG Graduates were 290 percent more likely to be employed White JAG Graduates 210 percent more likely to be employed JAG Graduates not enrolled in college were 140 percent more likely to be em- ployed JAG Graduates in college were 120 percent more likely to be employed JAG Graduates realized significant gains in weekly earnings, gains in higher hourly wages and better non-wage compensation including health insurance and re- tirement benefits Funding Kansas has been one of the innovators in funding the JAG-K program. Most JAG affili- ate organizations receive a state appropriation as their primary source of funding. JAG-K is primarily funded with a small portion of the federal TANF allotment to Kan- sas. JAG-K has proven to be a remarkable return on investment, for several reasons: • If a student doesn’t graduate from high school, they have a nearly 80 percent chance of going into poverty • Of those who go in poverty, most end up on public assistance or in the corrections system. • Kansas needs workers who are prepared to be trained • The Alliance for Excellent Education (All4ed.com) calculated the average economic benefit of a JAG graduate to be $133,139. Helping Foster Care Students JAG-K, in partnership with the Kansas State Department of Education, the Department for Children and Families, Wichita USD 259 and others, is implementing a multi-phase pilot project to help increase successful outcomes for Kansas foster care students. The current high school graduation rate for Kansas students in foster care is less than 51 percent. It is less than 28 percent in western Kansas. One of the major contributing fac- tors to lack of academic success is the mobility and multiple placements of foster care students. With each placement, a student loses four to six months of academic progress. There are several existing programs that have tried to address one or more aspects of this unacceptable outcome for almost half of our foster care students. JAG-K is taking a comprehensive approach with our partners. The JAG-K Success Academy will have a dedicated Career Specialist assigned to foster care students in a region of the state. The students will be enrolled in a virtual school, allowing them to continue in their core education classes regardless of their next school placement. If the student is placed outside the current region, the JAG-K Success Acade- my Career Specialist will still be responsible for advocating for the student, ensuring s/he is keeping up with grades, etc. In communities with a JAG-K program, the students will be placed in the JAG-K class for an additional layer of support.